Category: Natural Disasters

MANILA, Philippines – An “earthquake swarm” continued to hit Batangas yesterday as the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) advised people to stay calm but remain vigilant for the “Big One.” Phivolcs director Renato Solidum said an earthquake swarm has been going on since Tuesday last week, and seismologists have recorded over 1,000 aftershocks, including Saturday’s four “moderately sized” tremors. He said there was nothing to be alarmed about, as this was expected of a gradually moving fault line. Solidum said an earthquake swarm typically lasts for days or weeks. At 11:14 a.m. yesterday, a magnitude-3.9 aftershock struck five...

A subtropical storm could develop in the Atlantic Ocean this week – something that has only occurred once before in March since the pre-Civil War era. This potential system is associated with an area of low pressure that has developed well north of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, which has been dubbed Invest 90-L by the National Hurricane Center (NHC). This naming convention is used by the NHC to identify features they are monitoring for potential future development into a depression or storm. The system brought locally heavy rainfall to Puerto Rico during the weekend, along with rip currents and high surf....

BIG SUR, Calif. – Almost all the hotels, restaurants and state parks cut off when a bridge on the Central California coast crumbled last month remain closed, but Kurt Mayer chose to keep his deli and taproom open — even though it’s costing him. Heavy rains this winter damaged the span on iconic Highway 1 beyond repair, splitting the touristy Big Sur area in two and stranding more than 400 residents on one side. Visitors have been blocked from reaching part of the community known for its luxury spas, posh hotels and scenic retreats. For Mayer, the bridge closure...

Over the years, many people have been shown that someday a giant earthquake will cause significant portions of California to fall into the ocean. But up until now, most scientists have disputed the idea that this could ever actually happen. Well, now all of that has changed. According to a brand new study, a megaquake along the west coast “could plunge large parts of California into the sea almost instantly”. In fact, the researchers that conducted this study say that it is almost certain to happen eventually. Of course they probably don’t believe that such an event is imminent...

According to the weather channel, the most recent record-tying El Niño ending in spring 2016 likely left behind enough warm water to spring the next El Niño to life. El Niños are created and destroyed by a cornucopia of oceanic and atmospheric effects in the Pacific, but according to NASA scientists, two factors may tip the scales toward the development of the next El Niño, potentially later in 2017. First, the recent blockbuster El Niño not only featured deep, warmer-than-average water near the equatorial central and eastern Pacific Ocean, but also spread its anomalous warmth unusually far from the equator. Warmer-than-average water reached Hawaii and even the West Coast of...